Bumps in the Road
by SorellaMuse
Summary: Levy has 2 cats she adores. What happens when one of them goes missing? A story about Levy, her cats, and the guy who returned one of them... and every difficulty they have along the way. Retitled from "Missing!" Mostly Gale/Gajevy. Modern AU
1. Chapter 1

Missing!

Ch 1

A story about Levy's cats… and the guy who returned one of them. I know there's a lot of exposition but enjoy, and please keep an eye out for updates.

* * *

Levy McGarden had several things she loved in life.

Books, obviously. She could spend hours in the library or bookstore, getting absorbed into book after book. Her apartment was crammed full of them.

Tea and coffee – she loved her caffeine. She liked black tea, green tea, herbal tea, fruit tea, white tea, red tea, chai tea. She liked dark roast, light roast, cappuccino, espresso, lattes, mochas, and coffee from all over the world. And her favorite place to get it was Lily's Café.

And, finally, her cats. A 2 years earlier, she had found a tiny blue kitten – the exact same color as her own hair, strangely – abandoned in the rain in an alleyway that she passed by on her way back from the Café, mewling pitifully, its ribs showing through its dirty, matted coat. She had taken it straight to the local animal shelter to check if the poor cat had a microchip. It didn't. So she cleaned the kitten up – carefully cut out the mats, washed the dirt out, paid for shots at the shelter – and brought the kitten, who they discovered was a girl, home with her. She and her friends named the kitten Gail.

A year later, the blue cat – now larger, but still tiny – was well fed and groomed, and very adventurous. No matter how hard Levy tried to keep Gail inside, the tiny blue cat would squeeze out and go exploring. One day, as Levy was cooking, she heard a terrible screeching sound from the sidewalk and ran outside in a panic, almost crying at what she saw. Gail had been driven into a corner by the neighbor's aggressive rottweiler – a dog heavier than levy herself – and was trapped against a high stone wall, shrieking in fear as the giant dog advanced, snarling.

Before Levy could even move, however, a large black blur launched dropped down on the dog from the top of the wall. The blur – which was actually another cat – wrestled with the dog as levy looked on in shock. The mysterious cat kept scratching and yowling in rage at the dog, despite getting bitten several times, until the dog finally turned tail and ran, yelping.

Now that the black cat was still, Levy could see that it was a large, long haired cat with dirty, tangled fur, scars all over, and several fresh bites from the altercation with the dog. The cat's eyes were narrowed and lips pulled back into a snarl. All in all, it was an impressively scary cat, though obviously a stray. Levy was so busy staring at the black cat that she didn't even see Gail stand up from where she was crouched and approach the stray. As soon as Levy noticed, she was terrified that this cat would attack her baby too – but her fears were unfounded. The moment Gail pushed her head against the larger cat's flank, the cat's face softened, and it bent to lick the top of Gail's head.

Levy thought her heart was about to melt. The book lover in her was going insane over the sheer adorable-ness. A rough-and-tumble bad boy protects the tiny, weak girl he has a soft spot for and has come to love!~ The sound of a pained hiss suddenly snapped her out of her daydream, and she looked over at the black cat – only to discover that it had a huge bite on its back leg! Without another thought, Levy scooped up the black cat and carried her protesting bundle off to the animal shelter for a repeat of the events of a year before. She named the large male cat Jeel.

* * *

Fast forward to present day…

Levy was in a conundrum. It was the day of their monthly movie all-nighter – something which required massive amounts of snacks, caffeine, and, in one person's case, booze. Everyone had a job: Lucy brought the movies (Pitch Perfect, Sherlock, 300, and Aladdin), Juvia brought soda (Sprite, Fanta, and Dr Pepper), Mira and Lisanna brought salty snacks (Sour cream & onion potato chips, Doritos, and Chex Mix), erza brought the sweet snacks (Strawberry cake, Strawberry fields ice cream, and strawberries & white chocolate cookies), and Cana brought the popcorn (and alcohol for herself, of course). Levy's job had 2 parts. Part 1: provide the house and tv. Check. Part 2: provide everyone with the hot, caffeinated drinks she adores so much. Everyone was in the house, the movies were queued up to play, everyone was in their pajamas, the hot water was ready… there was just one problem.

She had no drinks

No coffee beans, no tea bags, no loose tea leave, nothing. Not even instant coffee.

NOTHING.

She stood in frozen silence staring at her empty cabinet. I know I haven't been shopping in a while but…

"Levyyyyyy~ where's our caffeeeeeeine~!" Cana called from her spot of the floor in the other room.

When they received no response. Erza frowned and set down Gail from where she had been trying to balance the smaller cat on top of the sleeping Jeel. Standing up, she walked into the kitchen, and poked the frozen Levy's shoulder. "Something wrong?" she asked, worried.

Levy slowly turned her head, towards Erza, eyes wide open. She whispered, too quietly to hear. Confused, Erza bent down to listen.

Levy took a deep breath.

"IT'S ALL GOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE" she shrieked, practically busting Erza's eardrums and startling the cats, who fled. She dashed out of the house, grabbing her wallet, and was gone. Leaving the door hanging open behind her.

As Erza tried to determine if her ears would ever work again, Lucy turned to the others with wide eyes.

"What just happened?"

Cana casually took a swig from her flask and shrugged.

"I guess she's gonna go buy more drinks."

No one saw the tiny blue cat slip out the front door and off into the night.


	2. Chapter 2

I've discovered that the best times for writing are when my roommate is asleep and I can just sit on my bed in the dark with my keyboard's backlight on. That's some pretty solid work time.

Oh! And just in case someone could tell who the mysterious guy who returns her cat is… it's gonna get even more obvious reeeeeeally soon

Anyway, here's chapter 2. It's another 1000+ word one (actually, it's 1400. You're welcome). I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

40 minutes after her impromptu run to the store, Levy was back, puffing and dragging her purchases behind her. The hot drinks were quickly completed, and, without further incident, they settled down to their movies. As it got later and later, the girls sang along with The Bellas, screamed with the Spartans (and cheered as Erza, Mira, and Cana attempted to reenact a battle in the living room), and laughed at Robert Downey Jr and Robin Williams. As the end credits of Aladdin rolled, Cana got up and stretched, disturbing Jeel from where he had been sleeping next to her since had he reappeared just in time for 300.

"Alright, who's ready for some Cards Against Humanity!"

Everyone except Levy, who got up and wandered into the next room, looking around worriedly, cheered. Mira snorted. "Only if you aren't the dealer! You always end up with the best cards."

Cana leered at her. "Oh yeah? You jealous of how my amazing luck always gets me 'A Bigger, Blacker D-" "Guys!" yelled Levy, bursting back into the room.

Everyone turned to look at her questioningly.

"I can't find Gail anywhere!

* * *

He was tired.

His plane had been scheduled to leave at 8 in the morning, so he had forced himself out of bed at 4 to get the last bit of the stuff from his old apartment together and be at the airport with plenty of time to get through security.

Then he got detained in security for "looking suspicious."

After an eternity of being searched and having to take out his many piercing so that the TSA could xray them, he was finally released – 10 minutes before his flight, which was at the opposite end of the airport was supposed to begin boarding.

So he grabbed his bag and ran straight to his gate, arriving just in time… to be told that that the plane was having technical difficulties and was being delayed.

So he waited.

30 minutes later, they were let onto the plane. And then told to get off again because they were having more problems.

Another 30 minutes after that, the airline switched them to a different plane. They taxied out onto the runway and were about to leave… and then sat around, in the plane, on the runway for another 45 minutes for who knows what. Then the plane finally started moving – back to the gate.

An hour later, they were finally loaded back onto the first plane and were on their way to Tokyo.

Three hours late.

He really hated LAX.

So, finally, after an hour of packing, 3 hours of driving and security issues, 3 hours of delays, and 11 hours of flying, he had disembarked the plane in Tokyo.

Only to receive a call from Lily, his ride, that because of the delay the man couldn't pick him up, thanks to his arrival in the middle of a busy time for Lil's shop.

After 20 minutes of failing to grab a taxi – they all seemed terrified of him – he gave up and started walking. It was only about a 40 minute hike from the airport to Fiore (the name of the suburb that Lil had his shop) anyway. The exercise would feel good after the long plane ride.

* * *

About halfway to Fiore, he heard a cat crying and stopped. He looked for the source of the sound, confused. There didn't seem to be anything around except a… tree...

Sighing, and hoping he had just been imagining the cry, he walked over to the tree and looked up – straight at a small blue – _blue? What kinda color is that for an animal?_ – cat, clinging to a branch and yowling at him.

Despite how much he just wanted to be on his way, it was cute, and fuzzy, and tiny – three things he had a major soft spot for. Not that he'd ever tell anyone that. No one needed to know that he loved small cute things. So he set down his stuff and climbed the tree, making soothing sounds at the cat. Poor thing was terrified. Made him wonder how it had even gotten up there if it was so scared of heights.

Once he was close enough, he reached over and plucked the cat off the branch, then leapt back down. He was about to put the cat down when he noticed a narrow black collar around the cat's neck with a tag on it. Frowning, he flipped the tag over and read it.

"Levy Mcgarden. 435 Magnolia Street, Apartment 2B. Fiore, Tokyo."

He grinned down at the cat, who had curled itself into a ball in his large hand.

"Looks like you've got yourself a ride home, kitty."

He shrugged his bag back over his shoulder, tucked the cat inside his leather jacket, and headed off towards their destination.

_"Shooby do bop…"_

* * *

"It's all my faaaaaault" Levy sobbed.

Erza frowned as Cana patted the blunette's back consolingly. "No it's not. We all were equally responsible for leaving the door open. You were in a rush, we should have noticed her leaving."

Levy sighed. The whole group had been searching for hours. Earlier Mirajane and Lisanna had had to leave to staff the tailor shop their family owned. Lucy and Juvia had both wanted to stay and help, but Levy told them to go to their appointments: Lucy had a meeting with her publisher about her next book, and Juvia had a date with her boyfriend for their 6 month anniversary. Now, she and Cana were designing flyers to put up while Erza called local animal shelters and vets to see if anyone had found Gail.

Levy went back to making flyers as Erza finished up another phone call. "-so please let us know if anyone brings in a small blue cat with a black collar. Thank you very much." Just as Erza hung up the phone, shaking her head, the doorbell rang. They all froze, unsure of what it could be but hoping for the best. Erza shook herself first and stood up to answer the door.

"Hello?"

"Are ya Levy McGarden?" Came a deep voice from the doorway. Curious, Levy got up and walked over to see who it was, Cana following.

"No she's my friend. Who are you?" Erza demanded. Levy swore her eyes were about to pop out of her head. Standing in her door was possibly one of the most handsome men she had ever laid eyes on. He was easily 6 feet tall, with long black hair, broad shoulders under a black leather jacket and thick gray scard, and late afternoon sunlight glancing off of metal piercings in his nose, eyebrows, and ears. He looked like he had stepped right out of a textbook description of a drool-worthy bad boy.

"I think I have somethin of hers" he said, drawing a small bundle out from inside his jacket. The moment she caught sight of the fuzzy blue ball, she launched herself forward.

"GAAAAAAAILLLLL!" she shrieked, snatching up her cat and snuggling the furball close to her, oblivious to the man staring at her in shock. As she cuddled Gail and murmured that she was so sorry, he leaned over towards Cana and whispered "Is it just me, or does that cat look exactly like her?"

Cana looked him over appraisingly, thinking about it. Suddenly a thought occurred to her and she grinned deviously. "Yep, she sure does… you're in the same boat though!" He looked at her like she was crazy, but was distracted by the small bluenette woman – the human one, not the cat – beaming at him.

"Thank you sooooo much! Where on earth did you find her?" She asked breathlessly, eyes shining.

He scratched at the back of his head, suddenly embarrassed. "Er… a ways out of town, stuck in a tree. I was heading in this direction anyway, so I just took her back with me."

Levy looked awed. "It's just like what Jeel did!" He cocked his head, a little confused, and she explained "Jeel is my other cat."

He grinned showing off sharp teeth. "Funny coincidence."

"What is?"

He shook his head. "Nothing much. Anyway, take care of her."

As he turned to leave, Levy called out "Wait! What's your name?"

He paused, looked back, and grinned.

"Gajeel. Gajeel Redfox."

Levy looked like she was about to faint.

Erza and Cana couldn't _wait_ to tell Mira.

* * *

Hehe.

Ehehehe.

The end of this chapter was fun to write. I'm sorry if it felt a little rushed, but I really really really wanted them to meet this chapter. Oh and I just wanted Levy to drool at the eye candy when she saw him, even if that's not really totally normal. I thought it was entertaining.

Anyway, thanks to Carlmike for reviewing. I'm saving the bulk of their "fun conversation" for their second meeting (this first one was more of an introduction)… but first, she has to be teased mercilessly by her matchmaking friends in the next chapter.

Side note: That thing in the airport? That actually happened to my dad a few years ago. The texts he sent me as the wait dragged on were hilarious. Lesson: when in doubt, never fly out of a California airport (a similar thing happened to my friend who was taking a connection flight through San Diego for winter break).

PS: LAX is Los Angeles International Airport in California in the United States. Sorry if that confused anyone.

So yeah. See you next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch 3

Before I jump into the friendly teasing:

Shout out to KicsiChii, midnightreader, and the mysterious guest for reviewing! Knowing what people think really helps me write, so thank you so much for reviewing. PSA for my readers: if you like it please rate or review, or even (if you're feeling generous) do both so I can get some feedback.

On to chapter 3!

It felt like a repeat of movie night. Except, instead of everyone cooing over Jasmine and Aladdin, they were prying into her life.

NOT.

COOL.

As soon as mister tall-dark-and-handsome had disappeared, Erza and Cana both whipped out their phones, summoning the entire group – plus a few extra – back to the apartment for interrogation.

And, of course, Cana was perfectly willing to spill every detail of the encounter, with added commentary by Erza.

"Aaaaaaand then, Erza was like 'dude who are you?' and the dude was like 'I gots her cat' and then Baby Blue totally flipped and glomped the kitty" Cana tipped her head back and took another swig from he bottle.

Mira looked horrified. "Why didn't she glomp him too? Perfect excuse!"

"Actually~" Cana leaned towards Mira conspiratorily, grinning like a maniac. "Y'see, she was a bit busy starin' at him… and we haven't even told you the best part!"

This meeting was all hands on deck. The Strausses had closed down their clothing shop early, and dragged 3 more with them: their sister-in-law, Evergreen; assistant, Kinana; and Laki, the co-owner of the shop selling wooden dolls and trinkets next to their store. Lucy had stopped to pick up Wendy, her boyfriend's younger sister, on her way to the house. Juvia was still on her date, but had texted them and promised to meet up later. Erza and Cana, of course, were already there. And the entire group was positively _reveling_ in making Levy squirm.

Lisanna was practically bouncing in her seat in anticipation while Kinana tried to calm her down. "What is it what is it what's the best part?" she shrieked excitedly.

Erza took up the reins of the story. "Well, do you all remember the circumstances around Levy getting Jeel?" Most of the room nodded, but Wendy shyly raised her hand, whispering "Uhm, I don't know what happened…"

Erza smiled warmly at the youngest bluenette of the group. "That's right, you and your mom hadn't moved here yet." She opened her mouth to start the story, "Well-" but was immediately cut off by an increasingly inebriated Cana.

"YA SEE, the lil furball had gotten out and that stupid dog that used to live near here – not sure if you ever met the thing, but it was a nasty mo-" "CANA!" "-er, uh, thing, and it tried to attack fuzzy! But then outta nowhere this other giant black furball leapt in and saved the day. Looked really mean too, all long shaggy hair and scars and a scowl-" _Oh no_. Levy's eyes widened. She knew where this was going. "-but then lil bluey melted the guy and Baby Blue over here ended up with a new family member."

Mira looked like a cat that had caught sight of a fat, juicy bird with a broken leg. Snipers had NOTHING on Mira's ability to lock on and target. "Hmm… and remind again, what did this stranger look like?~" she purred, her grin identical to the one that Cana had given Gajeel.

"Hmmm… let me seeee~" sang Cana. "Giant, had dark messy long hair, had a couple of scars – that I could see, and girl, he was wearing a long sleeves and long pants – plus piercings, was scowling till Levs the tiny appeared out of nowhere-" "_Hey!_" "-not his fault he couldn't see you hun. OH, and, to top it all off, he was the big bad scary guy that rescued the itty bitty blue princess~" she finished with a triumphant smirk as she tossed back the last of her alcohol.

Levy wanted to hide. She started surreptitiously scooting away, but Erza dragged her back, practically giggling.

As Cana held the bottle over her mouth and shook it, hoping for another drop, Erza jumped in, still keeping a tight hold on Levy. "Oh, but Cana, you forgot the best part!"

"But that was the best part!" she pouted.

"Well the best part of the best part, then."

"Which part was that?"

"Well, it involved his name…" Levy whimpered at Erza's gleeful tone.

"ERMEHGERD HOW DID I FORGET ABOUT THAT" she cried, clutching the bottle to her chest.

"ABOUT WHAT?" shrieked the rest of the girls, who had been watching the exchange in fascination.

Erza rubbed her hands together. "Levy's cats are named Gail and Jeel, correct?"

They all nodded, staring at the red head.

"Guess what his name is?~"

"What is it what is it?" cried Lucy excitedly.

Cana suddenly leapt up from the floor, thrusting her empty bottle into the air.

"Introducing…"

She struck a dramatic pose.

"GAJEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEL REDFOOOOOOOOOX!"

_3…_

_2…_

_1…_

Right on cue, every girl in the room aside from Levy began leaping around and shrieking – even the normally calm Evergreen.

"OHMIGOD THAT'S SO PERFECT!"

"GAIL PLUS JEEL EQUALS FUTURE HUBBIE!

"THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE THE CUTEST CHILDREN!"

"IT'S SO PERFECT!"

"IT'S SO PERFECT, YOU COULDN'T EVEN USE IT FOR A MOVIE PLOT!"

"MY EDITOR WOULDN'T LET ME PUBLISH IT, IT'S SO PERFECT!"

"I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE WEDDING!"

"LEVY REDFOX! CUTEST NAME EVER!"

"I WANT TO BE AN AUNT!"

"ME TOO!"

"ME THREE!"

"OR A GODMOTHER!"

"I WANT TO NAME A KID!"

"NO, I WANT TO!"

"HAVE ENOUGH BABIES THAT WE CAN EACH NAME ONE!"

"OR TWO!"

"OR SEVEN!"

"Guuuuys, come on" Levy whined, her face rivalling Erza's hair. "I'm probably never even going to see him again!"

Lucy suddenly stopped in front of her, bearing such a wide grin it looked like her face would split in half.

"It's a fated love, Levy! Just wait, you'll totally see him again – probably really soon too!"

Mira jumped in. "The sooner the better! You'll need to get started on all those babies soon!"

Levy groaned and buried her face into a pillow.

This story is so much fun. I was planning on having them meet again this chapter but ended up saving it for next chapter (which, as of writing this note before publishing this chapter, has not yet been started – but I have a pretty good idea of what's going to happen in ch 4. Afterwards however… no idea. I'll wing it!).

Before I bid you all goodbye, though, shameless plug time: check out the other story I'm working on between classes (though that one is harder to write so I won't be updated as often), called Fairy Riders of Pern. It's a crossover between Fairy Tail and the Dragonriders of Pern series of books, but you don't need to know the original Pern series to enjoy the fic. Okay, shameless self promotion over.

I'll try to get the next chapter out sometime this week.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch 4

New chapter! I feel so proud of myself.

Lucy bounced in her seat, pressing her phone to her ear impatiently, waiting for her friend to pick up the phone.

"_Hallo?_"

"LEVY! I have fantastic news!"

"Lu! What's up? Actually, give me one sec." Levy pulled the phone away from her ear and yelled "_Ich komme wieder. Üben Sie Ihre Sprech bis dahin!"_ Turning, she left the room and put her phone back on her ear in time to hear Lucy giggle.

"Were you teaching? Sorry for the interruption."

"Nah, it's fine. I was planning on abandoning them to each other for practice anyway. My TA should keep them on track."

"So what class was that?"

"German 4200. Anyway, what was the news you were so excited about?" Levy grinned as she said the second part; she knew how forgetful her best friend was.

"Well it's got a couple parts."

Levy flopped into a desk chair and leaned back, twirling a pen on her fingers. "Okaaaay?"

"First off, the manuscript for my next book went through!" she said excitedly.

"Good job girl! I know how hard you worked on it."

"Second, and this is the big one… _Song of the Wind_ has become so popular here, they want to release it in other languages too!"

Levy's jaw dropped and she almost fell out of her chair. "LU! THAT'S FANTASTIC!"

Lucy hugged herself and wiggled. "Isn't it? Plus…" She grinned slyly. "They gave me a choice of translators for the book for different languages."

Levy smiled to herself. She knew how much this meant to her friend. "So, who did you pick?"

"Well, that's actually one of the reasons I'm calling."

"Oh, do you need some help choosing? Each language has specialty translators-" Levy was cut off by Lucy's cheerful laugh.

"No, silly! I want you to be the translator!"

This time she did fall out of her chair, making Lucy laugh even harder.

"Lu, are you sure? I specialize in non-creative prose translations, I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep the emotions right."

"Apparently I trust your skills more than you do" she said drily. "I'm sure you can do it. Besides, you know every language they want to print it in, so the translations will all have the same feeling!"

"I don't know…" Levy was clearly still worried.

Lucy smiled softly. Her best friend could be incredibly modest and reticent at times. "Levs, you know I wouldn't ask if I didn't think you could do it. I'd love to have you as my translator. Will you do it?"

Levy sighed and smiled. "You're going to regret it!"

"YAY! And no, no I will not. Anyway, can you come to my publisher's office in about an hour? And bring some samples of your translations if you can, just in case."

Levy glanced at the clock. "Yeah, I guess. I warn you though, I'll have to come straight from class so I'll still be in my teaching clothes."

Lucy snickered. "Somehow, I don't think they'll have a problem with you showing up in your language freak clothes." 2 years before, Lucy had jokingly gotten her a long, tunic style shirt with patterns of Cyrillic, Greek, and Arabic letters, with borders of various Korean, Japanese, and Chinese characters. She had loved it so much that the shirt, paired with leggings, had become her standard outfit for when she was teaching classes at the nearby colleges.

Levy shrugged. "True. I'll go straight there after I finish beating these kids with the language stick. Can you text me the address?"

"Sure. See you then! And thanks a ton Levs!" The blonde blew kisses through the phone.

Levy giggled at her antics. "Ciao, Lu."

Ending the phone call, she lept up from her chair and raced back to class. Time to drive some grammar into her victims–er, students.

3 hours later, the 2 women walked out of the tall building together, bubbling with happiness. In Levy's large bag was a copy of the manuscript to be translated. The publisher had been thrilled that one of Lucy's best friends was a skilled translator, and wanted her to get started right away since she would have to translate it into several different languages – all time consuming processes. Though the publisher was paying her generously enough that she had no problem having to skip other translation jobs for the time it would take to finish the project.

As they split up to head to their cars, Lucy stopped Levy, who looked at her questioningly.

"Let's go to Lily's tonight to celebrate. I'll get everyone to come along. We can have a girls night out!"

Levy lit up at the thought of some of Lily's wonderful drinks and food. "Sounds awesome. Let me know when to get there."

"I will. Have a safe drive back!"

Levy laughed and strode over to her car, ready for a solid few hours before she had to leave.

Or not.

Levy sighed, glumly watching the flashing lights that filled the street in front of her apartment building. She could have been reading a nice book. Getting started on translating the book. Maybe binge-watched some Netflix with her cats.

But noooooo. Instead she was sitting on the curb across the street from her building, with nothing but her teaching materials and the manuscript. All because her idiotic neighbors had to set their food on fire while she was gone.

Her apartment was fine, of course, as were her cats. If it wasn't, she'd be making heads roll instead of just being annoyed. As it was, Gail and Jeel were probably just hanging around the apartment wishing all the people would go away so they could sleep. Ooh! Maybe they were fuzzy cuddling; Jeel had proved to be a sucker for the tiny blue cat when she wanted to snuggle.

But anyway, all _her _stuff was perfectly fine. No, her building was old enough that city code mandated that they couldn't enter the building until the fire was put out and the ENTIRE building had been inspected for structural damage. So here she was, stuck outside with nothing to do – all her books, translation tools, and her computer were inside. Unfortunately, so were her clothes. She had really wanted to freshen up some and change before they all met up at Lily's that night.

"Oh, my!"

Levy turned towards the source of the exclamation and came face to face with Lisanna, who had come up behind her and was now watching the scene with interest.

"What happened here?"

Levy snorted. "Y'know those idiot twins that live down the hall from me? And how the one keeps trying to beat Natsu's restaurant's reviews?"

Understanding dawned on Lisanna's face. "Oh dear. Was he trying some new technique?"

She rolled her eyes. "If you can call failing at flambéing something a technique, then yes."

Lisanna groaned. "Speaking of which, I'm surprised Natsu hasn't burned down the Salamander's Sushi Bar yet, what with all the flambé and other fire he uses. Though I guess Erza would fillet him if she lost a chance to be constantly brandishing her knife collection."

Levy shivered. Erza without an outlet for stress was a terrifying creature. Thank god her boyfriend owned a cake shop...

Lisanna seemed to read her mind. "Every time they do something stupid, I thank Mavis that Lucy and Jellal can control their idiots."

Levy was about to reply when she heard a new car pull up, distracting her. Curious, she craned her head to see who it was.

The building manager. Talk about useless.

Levy buried her head in her arms in frustration as the man starting screeching at the fire department that they'd better not damage anything because _he_ certainly wasn't paying for the damages.

Suddenly Lisanna clapped, making Levy jump. "I know! Why don't you come hang out at the shop until it's time for us all to head to Lily's? It doesn't look like this mess will be cleaned up any time soon, and I'm sure we can find something for you to do so you aren't ripping your hair out."

Levy smiled at her thankfully, standing up. "That sounds like a great idea. Want a ride to shop? I'll just drive straight to Lily's from there." Lisanna nodded, and the bluenette turned and started walking to her car.

Unnoticed by Levy, Lisanna pulled her phone out and sent a text to a certain match making demon.

_Target acquired. En route to shop._

Then she innocently slid her phone back into her pocket and ran to catch up.

I was totally going to make them meet this chapter but I was having major writer's block about how to get her to the shop (oops, mini spoiler)… so I ended up doing this. Plus you got some tidbits of backstory – though more will be coming.

Thanks to CallItAdventure, TiPoLover 22 (your named enlightened me; I didn't realize Kung Fu panda shipping was a thing) and midnightreader (again!) for your wonderful reviews.

Random notes: a TA is a teaching assistant (basically a term for older college students that act as sort of an assistant to professors in university class) and the German she yelled was saying that she would be back and that they should practice their speaking until then.

So, I have a plan for the next chapter but actually putting it into Word is proving difficult. The next chapter will definitely be up before September ends (Green Day will wake up to at least one new chapter! Yay! Sorry, music adorer). Also, confession, I was feeling melancholy so I used the majority of my words today on a short Laxana one shot about 9/11. But yeah, the next chapter should be out within a week or 2 so see you then.

Bonus points: Anyone pick up my massive hints and figure out who her mysterious neighbors that caused the fire were?


	5. Chapter 5

Ch 5

Soooo… Thanks to…

TiPoLover – lil' bit in here. Major GaLe is coming soon – like sickeningly sweet amounts.

LuxRayGuy – ding ding, you win! We might see a few more cameos from them since think they're a great way to add some random throwaway comedic relief, but we'll see.

Ink-Strings – you know Mira's gonna be all over them. Also, I feel so special for getting a double review :O

midnightreader – Hello to you too! And yeah, honestly I meant to have them meet earlier… but I kept not doing it. I guess I'm pulling a Mashima and procrastinating on my ships. Anyway, you were really close with your guess of where their meeting would be, and I applaud you for that, as well as guessing the twins correctly. I'm glad I'm not the only one enjoying some background info XD it's my weakness – and I could totally picture her in a tunic too. Plus they're so comfortable, so I figured it would be a great thing to wear for teaching.

…for the reviews. Also thanks to everyone who follows and favs it, it means a lot to me that people like it enough to keep track of their struggles.

On to chapter 5!

"Okay… tilt your head a little more, I need a better angle… ah, that's great! Okay, I'm all done." Mira set down her camera, smiling, as Levy relaxed.

"Jeez Lisanna, when you said you could find something to keep me occupied, I didn't think this was what you had in mind" she joked.

The moment she had stepped into the Strauss's clothing shop, Mira had pounced on the small woman, whisking her away to the back of the shop, babbling about 'perfect timing' and how she had a dress she wanted Levy to model for the photo wall.

See, the Strauss siblings owned a rather… unique shop. Their parents had begun it years before as a small boutique filled with cute clothes made by their mother. After the 3 siblings – Mirajane, Elfman, and Lisanna – had taken over the shop when their parents died in a car crash, they had expanded the store to specialize in made-to-order clothing, made from either a brand new custom design or based off of their previous products. Hence, the photo wall – one entire side of the store that was covered in posed photographs of outfits. Many of the photos used the family's friends from the area as both inspiration and models for the outfits.

Which was why Levy was currently perched inside a birdcage.

To be fair, it was a very nice birdcage. The massive, white filigree cage – she had idea where it had come from, and quite frankly was terrified of being enlightened about its origins – had been placed on the floor by the window and festooned with flowers delicate white and baby blue flowers and ribbons. Paired with the dress Levy was modelling, it looked quite spectacular. Though, again, Mavis knew why Mira had the cage lying around to begin with… sometimes it was better not to question her.

Lisanna giggled as she disentangled the ribbons wound about the bars enough that she could let the bluenette out. "You have to admit, it _did_ pass the time." She glanced at the clock. "It's almost time to meet the girls at Lily's to celebrate."

Levy frowned, climbing out of the cage. "Do you think I have time to go back to my apartment and get ready? I really should change."

Mira suddenly leapt into their conversation, still holding the camera. "Why don't you just wear that? It's casual enough but looks stunning. Plus it would be good advertisement for the shop!" she chirped. "Besides, we aren't even sure if you're allowed back in the building yet, remember?" Lisanna reminded her

Levy studied herself in the full length mirror beside her. The dress was a pale orange color, fitted around her torso and flaring around her hips to accentuate her small waist, the hem falling around mid-thigh. The neckline was edged in cream colored braids, with a matching larger braid as a loose belt around her hips. The girls had also put her in a pair of matching orange wedges and even enlisted their sister-in-law, Evergreen to do her hair and makeup to coordinate with the outfit before the woman left to pick up her daughter from kindergarten.

Sighing inwardly, she realized that they were probably right. "If you're sure it's okay…" Mira nodded eagerly – _Hm, suspicious_ – as Lisanna dug out an orange purse with the same cream braiding as a strap. "Here, use this while we're there. You can leave your bag with your clothes in your car." Lisanna glanced at the clock as Levy stuffed her clothes into her oversized tote, pulling out a few small items to slip into the smaller purse. "Speaking of which, time to go! You go on ahead, we'll lock up and follow you." Levy nodded in assent and leaned in to hug them both. "Thanks for the outfit guys! See you in a few."

As the door swung shut behind her, the two sisters high fived, smirking.

"This is gonna be _great_."

Adjusting the strap of her purse on her shoulder, Levy pushed open the door to Lily's Bar and Café. She sighed happily as the ever present scent of coffee, alcohol, tea, and old leather washed over her. The drink shop was paneled in dark wood, with leather-cushioned booths lining two walls, small tables and chairs filling the floor, and a wide bar wrapping around the other two walls. The back corner of the restaurant, by the end of the bar, held a small stage where local bands could perform or customers could dance along with the old fashioned jukebox.

Glancing towards the loudest part of the restaurant, Levy chuckled. It looked like almost everyone was there already, and their group had taken over the entire corner opposite the stage – people were perched at the bar, sitting in booths, and circling the freestanding tables. Everyone was laughing and joking with each other. Just seeing the rowdy group melted away all of her apprehension over Mira's somewhat suspicious actions.

"Ah! Levy! Over here!" came Lucy's excited voice, the blonde waving to her wildly from her seat beside her boyfriend, Natsu. Smiling, the bluenette wove her way through the tables towards her friend, greeting everybody. It looked like a standard day at the café, plus a few extra people. Juvia was holding hands with Gray, who was exchanging glares with Natsu from where he was talking with Loke and Aries about the pink-hair woman's new pregnancy. Bisca and Alzack were laughing as they watched Elfman try to teach both their child and his own about being manly, the two little girls staring at him solemnly as Evergreen punched his shoulder and started scolding him for giving them weird ideas and Bixlow cackled maniacally. Further down the bar, Macao and Wakaba were watching Vijeeter try to teach Max, Warren and Jet the dance his students had choreographed while Droy was stuffing his face, the observers laughing every time one of the men stumbled over their own feet. Levy noticed that Lisanna had gone to talk with Bixlow – the two had an interesting relationship – and Mira had greeted Freed with a kiss before moving to the bar to chat with Cana, who was nursing a beer. For some reason, she got a foreboding chill as she watched the two women mutter to each other secretively, occasionally glancing her way.

Shivering, she slid into the free chair across from Lucy and Natsu at their table. "Where are Romeo and Wendy? I don't see them anywhere."

The pink – ahem, salmon – haired man grinned triumphantly. "I finally convinced him that it was okay to ask Wendy out. Last I saw, they were heading out to get ice cream together."

Levy couldn't help but squeal at the news. Ever since Wendy's mother, Grandine, had moved to Fiore to marry Igneel, Natsu's father, their whole group had been trying to get Natsu's long-time admirer to confess to the girl.

Lucy gestured to the bar. "Why don't you go grab a drink? The tab's on me today in celebration!" Laxus came by to pick up the order form for Makarov, but Lily should be back in just a moment."

Laughing, Levy gave a mock salute, turned, and marched to the bar – Cana and Mira's conversation coming to a mysterious halt as the brunette raised her mug in greeting.

"Yo, baby blue!"

Levy smiled at her. "Heya, Cana. Seen Lily around?"

She jerked her chin towards the door by the end of the bar, which led to the back rooms – changing area, office, storage, and so on. "Yeah, Laxus came by to pick up Lil's order for Makarov. Shouldn't be too much longer."

Mira's face lit up. "Oh ho! Paying special attention to Laxus's whereabouts, hmm?"

Cana rolled her eyes, taking another swig from her beer. "One ship at a time, hon."

Confused, Levy glanced at the white haired woman, recoiling at the look of pure demonic glee pasted on her face. Forcing a nervous laugh, she slowly began backing away from Mira – at least until she was stopped by Cana slinging an arm around her shoulder as the older woman yelled to the men that had just emerged from the back rooms.

"Yo! Lily! Levy's here!"

Looking towards them, he cracked a rare smile. "If it isn't my favorite caffeine addict!"

Lily Pantera certainly seemed to be the exact opposite of his given name. He was tall and heavily built, with dark skin, cose- cropped black hair, and a scar at the corner of his left eye. When he had first moved to Fiore after the death of his wife, Shagotte, and opened his shop, Levy had been one of his first customers on her hunt for the perfect caffeinated beverage and a quiet spot to get some work done. Soon the whole group had established the bar/café hybrid as their favorite hangout. Since then, two of them had become good friends, despite his being almost twice her age.

Interrupting her musing, Cana slammed her hand down on the bar. "Lil! You should get your new barista to make Levs a drink to get the Baby Blue Bookworm Seal of Approval!"

Cana's comment caught the attention of several of the surrounding group. Curious, people started gathering at the bar.

"You hired someone new?"

"Who is it?"

"Someone we know?"

Lily shook his head, quieting the questions. "That's right, Cana was the only one around earlier."

Levy shot the drinking woman a suspicious look. Something was definitely up.

"Anyway, in answer to your questions, my nephew moved here a few days ago. I invited him to come work the bar with me."

Gray raised an eyebrow. "Never realized you had any family."

The big man chuckled. "It's a long story. But anyway…" he stuck his head in through the door to yell back. "Oi, get out here!"

A deep voice answered him, snorting. "Yeah, yeah. I'm comin' Lil."

Levy froze. Speechless, she glanced frantically at Mira and Cana – who were both currently barely able to restrain their glee. _Nonononono._

_That's impossible._

_Definitely NOT him._

Hearing heavy footsteps entering the room, she slowly turned her head towards the sound.

Insanely tall? Check

Piercings? Check.

Shaggy black hair? Check.

Sexy bartender outfit? _Hot damn_.

After that observation, her brain opted to shut down, leaving her to stare at oh-so-familiar man that seemed rooted to his spot.

Staring back at her.

Vaguely, she heard a whisper from somewhere in the direction of 2 platinum blondes and a brunette.

_"I told you it would be awesome!"_

Please don't kill me for all my tangents. I love you guys and hope that you won't kill me for constantly trying to shove in bits of world building instead of making them meet already X3

Anyway since I feel bad about the uber late meeting but wanted more of Mira plotting, here's a little bonus section from Gajeel's POV since we haven't really heard from him since his travel troubles. A note on writing him; keeping his internal monologues appropriate for children is _hard_. Anyway, enjoy their first encounter again… but this time form his view~

**Bonus mini chapter: Gajeel's side of the story**

Yawning, Gajeel cracked his neck, waiting for whoever was behind the door to answer it already. Feeling a small paw prodding his stomach, he looked down at the blue cat that was nestled inside his leather jacket. Grinning, he scratched its chin as it purred at him in approval. He'd become quite attached to the little furball.

Hearing the door begin to creak open, he quickly removed his hand from inside his jacket. When the door opened, he was definitely confused. He wouldn't have pinned the rather terrifying red head in front of him as a lover of small, fluffy cats, but then… who was he to talk?

"Are ya Levy McGarden?" At his question, the woman crossed her arms, tensing up. Apparently it wasn't her after all.

"No, she's my friend. Who are you?" He almost snorted. Talk about defensive. She would never be able to bluff her way out of anything.

Well, whatever. He'd just drop the cat off and get going. As he reached into his jacket, he noticed a flash of blue out of the corner of his eye – weird.

Mentally shrugging it off, he began "I think I have somethin' of hers-" but was cut off by a shrieking blue blob hurtling towards him. Shocked, all he could do was stare dumbly as the tiny woman – who he would have sworn was the human form of the cat he had just carried for the past half hour – hugged the furball to her chest.

Internally freaking out – was this the Twilight Zone or something? – he turned to the third woman that the house had expelled, who had somehow appeared beside him as he stared at the ador– _nope, nope, not going there, brain_ – blue one, to make sure he wasn't the only one seeing this.

She considered it, looking between the two. "Yep, she sure does…" Just as he felt some relief that he wasn't going insane, she turned a maniacal grin towards him that wiped it away. "You're in the same boat though!"

_The hell?_ Noticing the bottle in her hands, he decided to dismiss it as the ramblings of a drunkard. Or at least he hoped they were.

His attention was brought back to the smallest one when she beamed at him – dammit she was adorable. So cute and tiny, with bouncy blue hair – the one other person he knew with blue hair hadn't been nearly this hyper – and one of the brightest smiles he had ever seen… seeing that she was looking at him expectantly, he immediately rewound his brain to figure out what he had missed while staring at her.

Oh. "Er… a ways out of town, stuck in a tree. I was heading in this direction anyway, so I just took her back with me." He winced as he stumbled over his words, suddenly embarrassed. This chick was turning him into a wreck.

"Just like what Jeel did!"

His first reaction was jealousy. Was Jeel her boyfriend or something? He really had no reason to be jealous, though – he barely knew her… He opted for a confused look in the hopes she would explain.

"He's my other cat." The amount of relief he felt when she said that was _terrifying_. Though, really, Jeel? That was quite a coincidence.

"What is?" Oops. He hadn't meant to say that out loud.

Hastily, he tried to backpedal, shaking his head. "Nothing much." He seriously had to get out of here before she made him lose any more brain functions. He didn't have that many to spare.

"Anyway, take care of her." His hasty retreat was momentarily halted, however, by her calling after him.

"Wait! What's your name?"

He paused. He definitely wasn't in the habit of giving out his name. Where he came from, being too free with your name could be dangerous.

Still, he knew her name – only fair that she know his.

Having made up his mind, he looked back and grinned at her.

"Gajeel. Gajeel Redfox."

Besides…

He smirked to himself. Maybe he'd get a chance to see her again.


	6. Chapter 6

2 updates in a row? Wow. I blame it on the fact that I opted to work on this story rather than study. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

Levy gaped at the man on the other side of the bar. No _way_ was he actually there. She was obviously dreaming.

Though she was pretty sure her brain didn't have the capacity to imagine someone like _that_.

Glancing between his nephew and the short bluenette, Lily struggled to keep from grinning like a fool. They were blatantly ogling each other. Cana was right: there was definitely a major spark there. She'd made a good call, telling Mira and Lisanna about Fiore's new resident.

Some love would do the boy good, and wasn't it his job as a doting uncle to assist in any way possible?

Pasting on an innocent looking expression – or as innocent as his face could get, anyway – he decided to give the two a push. "Oh? Have you met before?"

They both jumped – he hid a grin – and carefully avoided looking at each other.

Gajeel coughed. "Uh, not really. I picked up her cat on my way here from the airport the other day… we met briefly when I returned it." Levy nodded, face slowly turning red.

Unnoticed by the rest of them, at the back of the group, Natsu was squinting at Gajeel, obviously confused by something. Lucy nudged him while the others were talking. "Hey, what's wrong?" she whispered.

He frowned. "I'm not sure… wait."

Suddenly his jaw dropped.

"Holy-! Metal head?!"

At Natsu's outburst, every head in the room turned to stare at him – Gajeel included, shocked face identical to the other man's. Levy, meanwhile, looked heartbroken at the interruption.

"Salamander?!" Fantasies of how their re-meeting was going to continue quickly crumbled as Levy latched onto Lucy, who was torn between shock, annoyance at Natsu for ruining the perfect shipping moment, and wanting to comfort her poor, disillusioned friend.

Grinning broadly, the pink haired man leaned against the bar. "I can't believe it! Haven't seen you in eons."

Gajeel smirked at him. "Never thought I'd see you or your old man again after you guys left LA. How's Igneel doing, anyway?"

He shrugged. "Eh, same as always. We opened a restaurant – you should stop by, I bet he'd love to talk." Pausing, he lowered his voice and leaned in closer. "Any word from Metalicana yet?"

Stone faced, Gajeel shook his head, lips pressed in a thin line. Natsu grimaced.

"Uhm… do you two… know each other?"

Looking around towards the source of the question, the two men realized at everyone was staring at them, dumbstruck and wide eyed.

Natsu laughed. "Yeah, we go way back. Our dads were sworn brothers so we saw each other all the time. Ran with the same crew for a long time too." With every word he said, their listeners just got more and more confused. Sworn brothers? Crew? "Then a job went bust and Igneel and I ended up having to leave in a hurry… why are you guys looking at me like that?"

Gajeel, who was holding his temples, sighed heavily. "Salamander… you never told them about your life in LA, did you?"

Confused, the pinkette shook his head. "Nah, but it's not like it makes any difference… oh. OH."

Lily, who had been struggling to contain his laughter ever since he realized what Natsu was talking about, decided to intervene. "Gajeel, since it's now out there in the open, why don't you just… enlighten everyone?" The look of utter disbelief on his nephew's face sent the man stumbling into the bar as he doubled over laughing.

"Are you insane?"

The man just laughed even harder at his question. Levy started to be seriously worried that Lily was going to hurt himself, he was laughing so hard. Glaring at Natsu, she pouted when she remembered that it was his fault that she wasn't talking to Gajeel anymore.

Not that she had been doing such a good job of it before.

While she was pouting, Natsu and Gajeel started bickering like little kids – and somehow, Gray ended up getting dragged into the argument as well. The three were hurling insults at the each other.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mira and Cana were having an emergency meeting.

"What should we do? They need to talk more!" Cana hissed, gesturing towards their new project.

"Damn Natsu. Why did he have to interrupt?" Mira was practically sobbing.

A new voice suddenly joined the conversation. "Interrupt what?"

"Erza! You made it!" squealed Mira.

"Yeah, traffic was bad. Anyway, what were you cursing Natsu about?"

A new plan came to Cana. They could make use of the brutally strong, yet hopelessly romantic, woman to get things back on track "Well… ya see…"

* * *

"NAATSUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Freezing, the man in question slowly turned towards the demonic looking red head marching towards him. "Y-yes?"

"I hear you've been making trouble…"

"N-NO! I haven't I haven't a swear! Gray and I are being best buds! No conflict here!"

Natsu was desperately hoping that that would get her off his back. What had he done this time?

"You've transgressed far beyond mere forgiveness! It's time for your punishment!" Erza growled, grabbing him by the scarf and dragging him out the door as he shrieked for mercy.

The rest of the group stared after them as the door swung shut behind them and Mira and Cana high fived silently in the corner. They nodded to Lily, who brought out an armful of beers.

The brunette slammed her mug down on the bar, drawing everyone's attention to her.

"Let's party!"

* * *

I feel like such a troll now. Somehow constantly throwing bumps into their relationship is so satisfying, though. Poor guys can't get a break.

Anyway, some of you may have noticed that I retitled the story. Even though I liked the original title ("Missing!"), I decided that it didn't actually have much to do with the overarching storyline – which, at this point, has transitioned into being more about their incredibly unlucky when it comes to trying to meet up again – so I decided to change it. I think I might end up having to re-rate it to T, too… idk, we'll see.


	7. Chapter 7

A note to my followers: sorry for the false alert. I accidently uploaded the chapter before it was actually ready because I forgot that I was rearranging how some of it was ordered.

Anyway, I've been feeling so motivated. I even have the next chapter mostly written already. Hopefully my workaholic streak will last.

Midnightreader: not to spoil this chapter, but I SWEAR YOU ARE A PSYCHIC OR A HACKER OR SOMETHING because I literally had already written basically a slight twist on that exact scene when I got your review. Either that or I'm just incredibly corny and cliché. Oh well. Hopefully your fantasies came true.

TiPo: the LA story will come. Just not yet.

Thanks a bunch to all my lovely readers and reviewers!

* * *

Levy sat at the bar, perched on a stool, feeling _very_ nervous.

_How did I get myself into this?_

* * *

As soon as Cana had officially started the celebration, everyone had swarmed the bar for beers and mixed drinks, yelling their orders to the two men behind the counter. Both of them were true professionals – mixing and serving drinks at a speed a no normal person could match.

Lucy and Levy had retreated back to their table to watch the party get going – or, in Levy's case, to watch the handsome new bartender. Everything about him was mesmerizing to her. His muscles flexing every time he shook or spun the cocktail shaker. His cocky grin every time someone exclaimed over a drink. The way he twirled the bar spoons and jiggers when he was measuring and mixing drinks. Occasionally she could have sworn that he was watching her as well, but she brushed it off as her over-eager imagination.

She thought she was hiding it pretty well… at least until Lucy elbowed her with a suggestive grin on her face. "Hmmm… see something you like? Leeevyyy~?"

Crimson faced, the bluenette hurriedly turned away from the bar and towards her laughing friend. "Lu! Not funny!"

Wiping at her eyes, the blonde patted her friend on the head. "Sorry, sorry. Anyway, weren't you going to go get yourself a drink?"

Somehow Levy managed to get even redder – Lucy honestly hadn't even thought that was possible – and starting mumbling what sounded like excuses. The only one she could make out was something about the bar being flooded with people so it wasn't a good time. Clicking her tongue in mock disapproval Lucy poked her friend in the forehead. "Ow!" Levy immediately straightened up to rub the abused spot, pouting.

Barely restraining another giggle, the blonde redirected Levy's attention towards the bar. "Look, it's already cleared up. Why don't you go now?"

Levy had to admit, Lucy had a point. Almost everyone had gotten their drinks and moved on – some were standing around talking, others were playing pool or dancing. She risked another glance at the bar, biting her lower lip. Gajeel was putting bottles back on the shelves behind the bar while Lily chatted with Cana and Laxus, who had taken a seat beside the brunette at the bar.

Sighing, Levy pushed herself up from the table. "Alright… wish me luck."

* * *

Levy really wasn't sure whether she wanted to hug Lily, or strangle him.

She had actually chickened out, and asked Lily to make her a drink instead, but the man just winked at her and dragged his protesting nephew over to do it, proclaiming that she should try the younger man's versions of her favorite drinks. Cana just nodded in agreement while Laxus looked on, one eyebrow raised questioningly at the other two. When Gajeel demanded to know why he had to do it, Lily's answer was: "I thought you liked making all the drinks? Besides," he smirked "Are you scaaared that you can't meet her standards." At this, he glared darkly at Lily, gaze promising revenge, muttering about interference and unnecessary actions. Laxus, realizing what was going on, rolled his eyes and left.

So, there she was, watching Gajeel as he made her a coffee.

Now that she was closer than before, she could see the faint scars crisscrossing his large hands. Curious, she thought back on what Natsu had said early – what kind of past did the two of them share? Now that she thought of it, she didn't know all that much about Natsu and Igneel's life before they had moved to Fiore when their group was in middle school. She wondered what exactly he had been talking about… she definitely had a suspicion of what he had meant, but was curious about the real story.

She was so lost in her musing that she didn't notice that he had finished until he set the mug down in front of her. Startled out of her thoughts, she looked up from the steaming drink at Gajeel, who shoved his hands in his pockets, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Blushing slightly – he almost looked _nervous_ as she picked up the drink – she wrapped her small hands around the mug and took a sip.

"Wow!" A huge smile stretched on her face. "This is great!"

He looked away, crossing his arms, then looked back and smirked at her. "Told ya I knew what I was doing, shrimp." He teased.

She pouted at him, and he just smirked even more in response. Huffing in mock anger, she went back to her drink, ignoring his odd laugh. Neither of them noticed Cana give Lucy a thumbs up from across the room.

As she drank more of her delicious coffee – he really did know what he was doing – she thought about how he had reacted when she complimented him on the drink.

She might have just been imagining it, but… she thought that she saw the tips of his ears turn red.

A girl could hope, anyway.

* * *

Like I said… cliché but fun.

Anyway, here. Have another Gajeel bonus before I give you sad backstory next chapter.

**Bonus mini chapter: Gajeel's side of the story, part 2**

_Why did she have to be so cute? _Kept running through his head as he struggled to concentrate.

Bad enough that he had been plagued with thoughts of her nonstop since he had returned the cat. But to actually be in the same building as her? Sheer torture.

He had stepped out of the back rooms after changing, ready for a standard evening… only to be confronted by _the most adorable person he had ever met_. He wasn't even bothering trying to deny it to himself anymore. He was totally obsessed and honestly, it scared the hell out of him.

The entire time he was filling all the drink orders, he could feel his eyes being drawn to her. Everything about her fascinated him. The way she waved her hands while she was talking. The way she bit her lip when she was thinking. And just… everything.

Sometimes, when he glanced at her between orders… he thought he saw her looking back at him. But there was no way.

Finally, with a sigh, he handed the final glass to the final person. Maybe he would be able to just hide somewhere now. After the weird thing with flame brain – idiot can't keep his mouth shut, and he didn't really want to share that particular slice of his life with her yet – he just wanted to relax.

Then he looked up.

And internally freaked out when he realized that _SHE WAS WALKING TOWARD HI–_ oh wait she was headed for Lily. False alarm.

He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or disappointed.

Then Lily just had to drag him over to her, where he promptly lost all form of coherent though – something about coffee? Sure, sure, he liked coffee. Coffee good.

With a massive effort, he dragged what little functioning brain he had back into a pile and ordered it to make her drink. She really was driving him absolutely insane.

Once he got started, it wasn't that bad. The process of making drinks was something he enjoyed. He'd always felt more at home behind bars than, well, most other places. Especially since Metallicana disappeared. Shaking off the dismal though, he turned to hand her the finished drink.

And was once again floored by how adorable her face looked when it was all scrunched up, like she was trying to figure out some sort of puzzle– _NOPE. Stop. Stop. Drink._

He set it down in front of her, holding back a smile when she looked up at him, confused. He quickly backed away, shoving his hands in his pockets, as she picked up the mug, which dwarfed her tiny hands. For one of the first times in a very, very long time, he actually almost felt _nervous_ about presenting a drink to someone, like he desperately wanted their approval.

And when a huge smile lit up her face when she tasted it, he felt like he had been punched in the face with a magical rainbow unicorn spewing happiness or something equally ridiculous. Because that was the only explanation for how unreasonably happy he felt about her compliment. He actually had to look away to get himself under control. Once he was back to normal, he looked back at her. "Told ya I knew what I was doing, shrimp" he teased, trying to keep from grinning like a maniac when she pouted at him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Lily smirking at him.

He really was doomed.

* * *

My goal for this fic is apparently to make Gajeel as cuddly and teddy bearish yet in denial as I possibly can. It's so much fun.


	8. Chapter 8

(Original published 9/27, updated published 10/7)

[[NOTE: if you have not read chapters 8 & 9 since October 7th, please reread them before continuing with the story. They had been redone to fix issues with pacing. Thank you]]

Okay, this is a new version of this chapter. I decided I didn't really like how I had paced the old versions of chapters 8 and 9 so I rewrote them. None of the plot elements are being removed, they're just being rearranged and combined with new material to make the pacing work better.

Again, thanks to all my lovely reviewers.

* * *

Lucy had watched the entire scene from her seat beside Natsu, smiling to herself. It was obvious to her that the two of them were both equally obsessed, judging by how much they each stared at the other when they thought no one was looking.

When Cana gave her a thumbs up she knew that, first off, the plan was working; and, judging by Cana's grimace, that they needed another push.

Shaking her head, the blonde stood and headed for the bar. Neither Levy nor Gajeel seemed to notice when she plopped herself down on the stool next to the bluenette. Rolling her eyes, she loudly began, "So!..." The two of them jumped in unision. It was adorable. "I didn't realize you had any family, Lily?"

The dark man smiled and fondly ruffled his nephew's hair – who quickly swatted him away. Crossing his arms, Lily leaned back against the shelves. "Well… to make a long story short, Gajeel's dad – Metallicana Redfox – and I served together in the Army straight out of high school. We became fast friends overseas. After our time was up, he went back to Boston to marry his high school sweetheart, Leah. I went with him and ended up falling in love with and marrying Leah's twin sister, Shagotte. The four of us ran a gym together for some years. Then…" He fell silent, eyes distant, his face a mask of sadness. Gajeel's face mirrored his uncle's, their sorrow and regret obvious to their listeners.

Lily shook himself out of his memories, sighing. "Sorry. Anyway, we aren't related by blood, but Metallicana and I were brothers in arms and in law. So," he grinned and elbowed Gajeel. "When I heard my cute little nephew, who just so happens to be an experienced bartender, was looking for a new home, I just had to bring him here!" Gajeel rolled his eyes and shoved Lily.

Levy tuned out their bantering, burning with curiosity. What had Lily been talking about? What could have caused so much emotional damage to two of the toughest looking men she had ever met? With a light sigh, she resigned herself to the lack of knowledge. While she was familiar with Lily, she barely knew Gajeel… no matter how instantly connected she felt to him. She shouldn't go prying into his life… Mavis knew she had always hated it when people tried to do it to her.

She was drawn back to the present by Lucy tugging on her arm. "Levy! Let's go dance!" the blonde urged, taking the mug from Levy's hands and placing it on the bar top. She laughed and allowed Lucy to drag her off her stool and away from the bar. Glancing back towards the mysterious new bartender, she met his eyes, cheeks flushed, and called, "Thanks for the drink!"

* * *

Hidden away from prying eyes, shadowy figures gathered to discuss their mission…

"Alright, everyone here? Good. As you all know, it's now been several weeks without any noticeable developments. Our job is to change that and ensure that our targets get together ASAP and have lots of cute babies. Now, with regards to the mission, Subject L has been more willing to be my model recently, particularly when I give or sell her the clothes afterwards. She seems to be paying more attention to her appearance."

"Don't forget, she's come in to ask me to teach her more about makeup and hair a few times."

"And I've seen her through Seidhr Cedar's front window a few times, pacing in front of Sew Be It without going in. Nervousness, maybe?

"Right, I had forgotten. Thanks, Green. And thanks for noticing that, Lavender. I hadn't. Does anyone else have anything to report regarding their status?"

The smallest shadow shyly raised it's hand.

"Yes, Little Blue?"

"I've been listening in on gossip at the Sushi Bar and Tower of Treats… there's been plenty of speculation about the subjects but nothing confirmed."

Another raised its hand. "Yellow?"

"I've been asking Subject L, but she either ignores my hinting or changes the subject." The shadow pouted. "She won't even take me with her when she goes shopping anymore!"

Another shadow leapt from its seat. "Ah! Ju- er, Big Blue has something to say! Subject L has been going shopping more frequently, and not just for books. She changed her shampoo to a prettier scent, bought some scented shower gel, got more makeup, and has been expanding her collection of accessories and cute clothing!"

"As expected from our pro stalker!"

"Shhhhh, Little White, don't be so loud."

"Be careful – we might get discovered."

"Oh. Right. Sorry, Big White, Red."

"Anyway, anyone else have anything to report? Any changes in behavior? Yes, Brown?"

"Subject L has been hanging around the Shop a lot lately – granted, she did that before, but now she tends to sit closer to the bar, especially when Subject G is around."

"She has also taken to ordering drinks straight from the bar when he is working, rather than through one of us waitresses."

"Hmm… an interesting development, Purple."

"Indeed."

The shadows all stood up and faced each other.

"Remember everyone… we are women on a mission! We will not be stopped! Operation GaLe MUST succeed!"

"And remember… talk about what happens in this room, and you die."

* * *

Muttering darkly, Levy scanned the paper in front of her, slashing and commenting all over it in red pen. The tenses were all messed up, the grammar was atrocious, half the words were spelled wrong, and the topic didn't even make sense! Glaring down at the offending paper before her, she resolved to have a… _chat_ with whoever decided to turn in this garbage.

"You tryin' to set the thing on fire with your eyes, shrimp?"

She looked up, still scowling, blushing slightly at the amused look on Gajeel's face as he set down her usual drink in front of her.

She snatched it up and glared into it, trying to get her mind off of him. "I wish I could burn it. It's an affront to my eyes."

One eyebrow went up as he rolled up his sleeves to start washing glasses. "What is it, anyway?"

She waved her hand irritably, slouching back on her high chair at the bar. "Some stupid kid taking my intro to Russian class did a terrible job on the paper I assigned. Best thing that can be said about him is that he at least remembers the Cyrillic alphabet."

The other eyebrow went up. "Are you a teacher?"

"Sometimes. I work as translator as well as teaching various language classes at some of the colleges around here." She watched his movements as she spoke. Now that his forearms were exposed, she could see old scars slashed across his corded muscles. Idly she wondered what had caused them, itching to trace them and learn their stories. What looked like the very edge of a tattoo peeked out from beneath the folded edge of his sleeve. _I wonder where else he has tattoos…_

Blushing, she shook her head, mentally scolding herself. A flash of blonde out of the corner of her eye caught attention and she turned to look, knitting her brow in confusion.

"Lu? Er, why were all of you guys in the storage closet?"

* * *

This one didn't really change much. Ch 9 bore the brunt of the edits.


	9. Chapter 9

(Original published 10/3, updated published 10/7)

[[NOTE: if you have not read chapters 8 & 9 since October 7th, please reread them before continuing with the story. They had been redone to fix issues with pacing. Thank you]]

Okay, this is a new version of this chapter. I decided I didn't really like how I had paced the old versions of chapters 8 and 9 so I rewrote them. None of the plot elements are being removed, they're just being rearranged and combined with new material to make the pacing work better.

Again, thanks to all my lovely reviewers.

I realized that I never actually mentioned the name of the tailor/clothing shop the Strauss siblings own… whoops.

* * *

Shivering, Lucy pushed open the door to Sew Be It, the small bells along the frame chiming. Swinging the door shut behind her to block out the cold autumn wind, she glanced around the shop, face lighting up when she found the object of her search.

"Juvia! That dress looks fantastic on you!" The blue haired woman blushed as she twisted her torso to see Lucy. She was standing on the dressmaker's stool as the two Strauss sister's pinned the hem of the pale blue evening gown she was wearing.

Carefully avoiding tripping over Mira and Lisanna, Lucy walked a circle around Juvia, admiring the dress. It had a draped neckline that connected to a high back, which was covered in intricate cutouts that reminded her of waves and ocean currents. It was a pale blue for most of its length, darkening to a deep navy by the bottom, with tiny silver and white crystals scattered across the skirt. The Strauss siblings had really outdone themselves. "Obviously the dress is almost ready. How are the other preparations for the show going, Miss Painter?" she teased. Juvia looked down.

"Ju-Juvia thinks it isn't fair for Lucy to tease her like that! Lucy is a popular writer with more experience in these sorts of events!" she cried, fidgeting with the front of the dress until Mira scolded her.

Lucy patted Juvia's arm consolingly. "And that's why I'm here to talk to you about what's going to happen at the gala. You'll be so prepared you'll feel like you've done it all a million times," she said, soothing the distressed artist. She nudged Mira's shoulder, asking "Mira, can I steal Lisanna after you guys are done with the fitting?"

Mirajane glanced up at her, saying "I don't see why not. I'll just get Elf to help me clean up. Speaking of which…" She stood up, patting Juvia on the shoulder. "You're all ready to go, dear. Go ahead and change. Just be sure to take the dress off carefully! Don't want to dislodge any pins." Juvia nodded and swept into the changing room as Lucy helped Lisanna up from floor. As she brushed herself off, the youngest Strauss looked at Lucy inquiringly. "So, where are we off too?"

The blonde giggled at her. "Lily's, of course! It's coffee time!"

* * *

Laughing, the three women pushed each other in through the door of the café. Despite it already being late afternoon, there were still plenty of people at the bar and tables. Spotting an empty table near the bar, the three of them shrugged out of their coats and sat.

Lucy rubbed her hands together in excitement. "Obviously we're going to talk about your expo and gala… but first it's gossip tiiiime!~"

Lisanna and Juvia both squealed. They all loved gossip. Lucy smirked at Lisanna. "So, how's it been going with Bixlow?" The white haired woman flapped a hand at her. "Same old, same old. Trust me… you _really_ don't want to know the details." The other two shuddered. "Oh, one funny thing though – you know how there are community craft fairs all the time? Well, one time, when Laki wasn't able to runt Seidhr Cedar's booth, he tried to run it by himself. They didn't sell ANYTHING! Apparently kids were terrified of him…"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, the face and tongue tattoos, crazy hair, and weird habits tend to do that."

Juvia turned to Lucy. "Anyway, how have Lucy and Natsu been? They've been dating for a year or two now, right? Any… hmmm… new developments?" Lisanna giggled, "I still can't believe you guys waited so long because you thought I liked him!"

Lucy blushed scarlet at their teasing. "No, nothing new. He still comes in through the window, even though he has a key. Hell, at this point, Happy spends more time at my place than at his." She smirked at Juvia. "Besides, if anyone can be needled about waiting, it's this girl! You and Gray waited, what, 3 years to start dating? You guys should be married by now!" Lisanna nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Speaking of married, Lucy, how's your brother? Isn't Aries expecting?" Lisanna asked. Lucy nodded. "Yeah, they just found out. She's about a month along. They're doing well, even if everyone else at Zodiac Models is constantly teasing them."

Juvia suddenly clapped her hands together, stars in her eyes. "OOOOH Juvia can't believe she almost forgot about this!" The other two turned to her, confused. "Forgot about what?"

Juvia beckoned them closer, a finger on her lips. Still confused, they obeyed and leaned in. The blue haired woman looked around furtively, then leaned down and whispered, "Juvia heard this from Gray… for the past week or so, Jellal has been taking longer lunch breaks than normal… Gray has been wondering what it is that could distract him from his beloved cakes, so a few days ago, while Jellal was in the back changing back into his work clothes, Gray peeked inside Jellal's bag… and guess what was in there?"

Lucy and Lisanna, entranced, shook their heads.

Quietly, Juvia squealed, "Engagement ring catalogues!~"

The other two felt their jaws drop.

"Ohmigod he's going to propose to Erza?"

"That's so adorable! Though, honestly… never would I have expected the Demonic Titania of Magnolia Martial Arts to be tamed by a quiet baker like Jellal!"

Their excited whispers were cut short by a familiar voice. "Hey guys! What are you whispering about?"

Lucy looked up and smiled. "Kinana! I didn't realize this was your shift." Remembering the question, she answered, "Oh, just some gossip about a certain red headed terror."

The purple haired woman put her hands up in defense and backed up. "Don't tell me. Please. I'd like to continue living." The three at the table laughed.

"Anyway, what would you like to order?" she asked, pulling out her order pad.

Lisanna struck a dramatic pose. "For autumn… it must always be pumpkin! Pumpkin pie! Pumpkin lotion! Pumpkin flavored unmentionables! And especially…" She thrust a fist in the air. "PUMPKIN SPICE LATTEEEEEEEEE! OH YEAH!"

The entire restaurant turned and stared at her.

Kinana blinked. Then she turned to the bar.

"Lily… I'm assuming you got that order?"

The big man chuckled and gave a thumbs up. Turning around to make it, he called "One super pumpkin PSL, coming right up."

He opened the cabinets where they kept the drink supplies and froze. _Oh no…_

Noticing his sudden immobility, Lucy frowned and called over, "Lily? You okay over there?"

Lily swiftly closed the cabinet and yanked his cell phone out of his pocket, punching in a phone number. Putting it up to his ear, he waited for a response then bellowed into the mouthpiece, "CODE ORANGE. I REPEAT, CODE ORANGE. SUPPLIES OF PUMPKIN ARE CRITICALLY LOW. MUST REPLENISH IMMEDIATELY." In a normal voice, he continued, "The mall, which has all the stores where I get my supplies, closes in 45 minutes and I can't leave the bar. I'll text you the address and a shopping list. Bring me the stuff before closing time or I'll start telling everyone your baby stories. Have fun~"

With that he hung up, cutting off whatever protests may have been coming from the other end.

Now the entire store was staring at him while Lucy, Juvia, Lisanna, and Kinana were struggling to contain their laughter. Looking around, he shrugged and said, "What? It's my job to tease him."

* * *

Gajeel's ears were still ringing as he swung himself off his motorcycle – the shipment with his big stuff from LA had finally arrived, including his cherished mode of transport – in near the address he had been sent. Damn that man could yell.

He gazed up at the massive mall, mentally cursing his uncle for sending him off on this wild goose chase. The list of shops Lily had texted him was a mile long, and he had no idea where they might be in this monstrosity. Grumbling, he pulled his leather coat shut against the wind and trudged inside in search of a map.

* * *

Levy sighed heavily as she made her way towards her favorite tea shop. She honestly wasn't sure whether today was a good one or a terrible one.

Sure, all her classes had gone well today – she'd even been able to scold that stupid kid with the terrible paper. And yeah, she'd gotten through a good chunk of a chapter for Lucy's book while translating during lunch. She even had time to stock up on her drink supplies, even if she hadn't been making her own drinks as often since… well. Yeah.

On the other hand, some jerk had gone around the faculty parking lot and slashed everyone's tires and keyed the paint on all the cars. So now her poor car was in the shop and she was stuck walking around magnolia in the cold, late autumn wind.

Kind of put a damper on her good mood.

Forcing her mood in a more positive direction, she stepped into the shop, reveling in the clean scents of herbs and tea leaves that surrounded her. Breathing deeply, she headed towards the back – stopping short when she saw someone that looked totally out of place in the whimsical little store, towering over the small shelves in black leather and worn jeans, alternating his gaze between glaring at his phone and squinting at the labels on the tins of leaves.

"Gajeel?"

* * *

More awkward encounters! YAY!

Also, I can totally imagine Lisanna and Lucy as the stereotypical white girl in yoga pants and uggs ordering pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks all through autumn.

Anyway, the old chapter 9 (the backstory galore) is going to be slightly changed and moved to being chapter 11 (possibly 12, but probably 11). I probably won't change it very much, but I wanted to make it fit better. As soon as I finish writing 10 I'll give you those 2 chapters, and then we can get on with the story.

Hopefully people like the new versions of these chapters. I just decided I really wasn't a fan of how I had done them before… so yeah.


End file.
